Thursday, February 7, 2013

If She Run Away

A letter written on her husband’s business stationery by
Ella to her father—dated all but the actual year—captures a moment in this
young mother’s life. While she certainly sounds like she had her hands full, I’m
not sure who is the more interesting character—the child with antics not
unusual for someone of this age, or the mother with her own ways of handling
parenting.

Redwood City, Cal.,
Nov. 24th, 189-

Dear Father:—

Your letter was received some time
ago, and the package received last week, intended to have written before now,
but Leona had the Grippe about five weeks ago and it left her with a real bad
cough, couldn’t seem to get any thing to stop it, untill I gave her goose oil
that was fine. It soon stopped it. One day and night last week I was afraid it
was going to turn in something else, as she was so tight, when she would cough,
but she is alright now and is such a mischief she talks everything now. This
morning she was standing watching it rain, all at once she ached for papa said
he would get wet and she was sorry. She don’t climb on the fence any more, and
does not run away so much for she saw a woman whipping her little boy. I told
her it was because he run away and if she run away the woman would whip her, so
she is afraid to get very far from the gate.

Oh yes, if only she'd finished the year date! Quite the interesting letter. I never would have thought of goose oil as a cure for a cough. Actually, I've never even heard of goose oil until reading this leter. :)

Jana, I hadn't heard of it, either. But when I took a look around at some of the other medical writings of the time, I guess I'd take goose oil over some of the alternates! I saw one that mentioned skunks...

Yes, I imagine the same verve that made the adult Leona what she was contributed to creating the handful that her mother found her to be. Pulling pickets? That took the cake for me. The girl must not have known her own strength--or maybe knew no limits, once she put her mind to something.

On the other hand, I found her mother's parenting approach to be rather interesting...

About Me

It is my contention that, after a lifetime, one of the greatest needs people have is to be remembered. They want to know: have I made a difference?
I write because I can't keep for myself the gifts others have entrusted to me. Through what I've already been given--though not forgetting those to whom I must pass this along--from family I receive my heritage; through family I leave a legacy. With family I weave a tapestry. These are my strands.